Supreme leader speaks17 Feb 2026 11:10
From CNNs running news feed
"Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to US President Donald Trump’s recent threats against the Islamic Republic and the US military building in the Middle East, saying that even the strongest army in the world can be “slapped.”
“The US president repeatedly says our military is the strongest military in the world. The strongest military in the world may sometimes be slapped so hard it cannot get up,” Khamenei was cited as saying by Iranian media on Tuesday, telling Trump that he cannot destroy the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei added that Iran has weapons that can bring US aircraft carriers – which the US has recently moved to the Middle East – to “the bottom of the sea.”
“They keep saying we’ve sent an aircraft carrier toward Iran. Very well. An aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous piece of equipment. But more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon that can send that carrier to the bottom of the sea,” he said."
Sound as though the Geneva talks may not go well.